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Sunday, April 29, 2012

I decided my April project for Sew Its Finished should be "Christmas Truffles" (Hugs & Kisses - published in 2005). I can't remember when I started this - probably 4 or 5 years ago - and although I still had a few blocks to embroider as well as putting it altogether, I thought I could possibly get it done - since there was a break from work at Easter and then I had another 5 day break from Anzac Day until today. Well I just made it - a lot of other things have been pushed aside but there is always time to catch up later. (I think I better choose a small project for May so I can go back to all the other projects - especially my SKoW and Journey of a Quilter.)This quilt was a strong lesson in not using a background that has a lot of detail on it - it was so hard to see the drawings underneath to trace - even with a good light box.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

My sewing group celebrates "0" birthdays by the rest of us making a secret quilt for the birthday girl. Of course the birthday girl knows she is going to get one - but its all hush hush and a totalsurprise on the day - or in this case 2 months later. We started this tradition in 1990 when there were only 6 if us all together - so the first birthday quilt was comparatively small. We grew in numbers over the next year but have since gone up & down a bit. This is the last "0" quilt we have to make and we used Anni Downs Gardeners Journal for the pattern - but didn't do all the blocks and re-arranged it to suit us.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

I went to the Brisbane craft show in March and saw a quilt from Indigo Niche in sashiko. This was a bit different to the usual navy/white and it caught my eye.
I have finished Block 1 - it was easy enough as the design is already printed on and its a simple running stitch - once you master the huge needle and thick thread (and long length compared to my normal stitcheries).

Friday, April 6, 2012

I've recently discovered another Brisbane blogger and we have been swapping emails - and now she has tagged me! The idea is that I answer the questions below and then I tag some others and if they are happy to play along - they do the same.

1. Musicals or plays? And what are your favorites?Musicals - though I don't often to get to them.

2. Do you have any "hidden" talents that have not made it into your blog?I can do and have tried a lot of crafts - cake decorating, weaving, upholstery, knitting, crocheting, cross stitch and now mainly patchwork, quilting and stitcheries. I wouldn't say I am exceptionally good at any of them but I enjoyed them while I did them.

3. Are you a reader? If so, what are you reading right now?Absolutely - though mainly for a short time before I go to sleep - so I only read light stuff - I used to read Patrica Cornwell and Kathy Reichs but have gone off them a bit,. Diana Gabaldon, Jennifer Chiaverini, and a lot of the popular authors that write the "girl meets boy scenario" but NOT Mills & Boon (got to draw the line somewhere!)

4. What is your favorite time of day?I love watching the sun rise over water - though I don't get to see that often. I love the sun setting over water too - even more unlikely in Brisbane. I am more awake at night than I am in the morning. Alternately I could just say - anytime I am happy - could be when I am sewing or socialising .

5. Do you save the selvages from fabric? Have you ever made anything with them?I didn't used to, then I started saving some when I bought a big piece of fabric - ie 1 metre or more. I have saved a few on the off chance that someone would want them and now I have somewhere to send them so I might save more from now on. I am not interested in making things with them. (Sew much fabric - sew little time - as Cath said before me.)

6. What is your favorite quilt you've ever made?Maybe the Quilt Diva (by Amy Bradley) - I have her on my wall in my sewing room - but really there has only been one quilt I made that I didnt like much - it has a spider web fabric in it - (Queensland Qulters Challenge fabric) My husband has Welsh cousins who have a son who like spiders so I gave it to them.

7. What color comes up most often in your quilts? That is hard to aoswer - I like using jewel tones but I can work in lots of colours - not overly fond of "Country" and shabby chic is lovely but not for me.

8. Do you play music while you sew? What songs get you motivated?YES. Absolutely YES. M y computer has loads of music on it and its in the same room where I sew. Either the TV or Music is on in our house almost every waking moment. Love some of the old 60s and 70s stuff - showing my age here.

9. What's the worst injury you've ever suffered? I tore a piece of my leg off one day during school holidays - mid high school 15 maybe. (you are all going eeek now)

10. Do you come from a large family or a small family?Small, I have 2 brothers. Mainly one grandparent and two sets of uncle & aunty though we really only saw each other at Christmas11. Have you always lived in your current hometown? If not, how far away do you live from the town where you were born? No, I was born in Sydney - NSW - and moved to Brisbane 23 years ago - Sydney is about 1000km (and a lifetime) away.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Over at Sew Its Finished, the goal is to finish at least one project a month - so I am doing the quicker ones since I have a few other things on the go that I don't want to become UFOs. So I picked "Uptown Chic" bag from Faeries in My Garden (one of the GOMs I think). It was already cut out so I put it all together and even crossed over into FMQ world - I just followed tha pattern but it was a good practice piece.